On Saturday night, Binghamton Underground Music Presents (BUMP) ushered in the semester with a concert showcasing the talents of indie bands Diet Cig and IAN SWEET.
Rising indie rock trio IAN SWEET opened up the night. The band played songs from their debut album “Shapeshifter,” which they released in September and promoted its upcoming tour. IAN SWEET’s stage presence and energy rubbed off on the crowd as their indie pop-rock sounds filled the Undergrounds. The crowd, which grew steadily through the set, danced along with the musicians onstage. By the time the band finished their set, the crowd was riled up and ready for the headliner, Diet Cig.
Though this was the band’s first time at a BUMP show, this was not Diet Cig’s first time at Binghamton University. Guitarist-vocalist Alex Luciano and drummer Noah Bowman recorded a session with WHRW 90.5 FM two years ago. The indie pop-punk duo, which was started in New Paltz, has been making rounds at festivals and carving out a name for themselves in the indie music scene.
Even with their growing success, the duo still enjoys playing smaller college shows.
“I honestly love playing college shows,” Bowman said. “It’s so different than any other venue.”
Their love for this kind of performance was clear during Diet Cig’s performance, as Luciano jumped around the stage while audience members danced and moshed on the floor. The chemistry that Bowman and Luciano share is evident and set the mood for their act. Their obvious enjoyment of playing together fueled the enthusiasm and excitement of the crowd, turning the space into a lively indie-rock venue.
Like most BUMP shows, there was a high level of intimacy between the crowd and the performers, particularly driven by Luciano. Before playing the song “Sixteen,” Luciano informed the crowd that she wrote the song about someone she used to date who had very recently messaged her on Snapchat. It was anecdotes like these that created such a close atmosphere between the audience and performers that BUMP shows are popular for.
BUMP Chairman Sidney Ogunsekan felt the concert achieved the connection that BUMP strives for.
“I feel like people really vibed with Alex,” said Ogunsekan, a senior majoring in business administration. “I loved her crowd interaction.”
Diet Cig kept the audience involved and entertained consistently until the end of the night.
Audience members like Andrea Korn enjoyed the vibe of the show.
“It was a really good, high-energy show and people really seemed to be digging it,” said Korn, a senior majoring in human development.
Luciano echoed the sentiments of the crowd.
“It’s super fun, everyone was super nice,” she said. “It was great.”
Diet Cig will be touring in the United States and Canada until May and is releasing its debut LP, “Swear I’m Good At This,” on April 7.